As we reach the end of the year and finally stop long enough to take stock, it’s surprising just how different things look compared to what we imagined back in January. If you’d asked any of us what would be the sticking point of building Innate Needs, we’d probably have pointed to the technical side of the project - the mapping, the data structure, the work that sits quietly underneath the platform and nobody really sees. We certainly wouldn’t have predicted the parts that ended up challenging us the most.
And yet, here we are, closing out 2025 with a platform that is stronger and more resilient precisely because things didn’t go the way we expected.
What We Thought Would Happen… and What Actually Happened
Through the year, we met with countless organisations - councils, charities, networks, groups of all shapes and sizes. Almost every conversation started in the same encouraging way: people saw the vision immediately. They knew the current system was fragmented. Nobody disputed that finding help takes far too long. Everyone had their own stories about residents being bounced from one directory to another.
But then, without fail, things shifted the moment the idea of data sharing came up.
And this is where we found ourselves slightly blindsided. We had imagined collaboration would be the easy part. If you’re all working toward the same goal - getting people the support they need - why wouldn’t everyone want to join the dots?
But instead, we found shutters quietly coming down. Not rudely. Not dramatically. More in the way people close a door gently but firmly. Data felt territorial. Even publicly available information was treated as something that shouldn't move beyond the organisation’s own website.
At first it felt discouraging. Then, oddly, clarifying.
Because once you understand those dynamics, everything else starts to make more sense. Many organisations aren’t reluctant out of disinterest or lack of goodwill - it’s often structural, historical, shaped by funding models and internal systems. And once we stopped treating those moments as rejections and started treating them as information, we began to see the route forward much more clearly.
Turning a Stumbling Block Into an Actual Step Forward
What came out of those conversations was Innate AI. And it’s probably the best example this year of something difficult turning into something genuinely constructive.
We didn’t want to rely on organisations manually updating their listings. It’s not realistic and, frankly, it’s not fair to expect. People working at a food bank, a warm space, a mental health charity, a small community kitchen - they don’t have hours to spare keeping track of yet another system.
So instead of continuing to push for something that wasn’t going to work at scale, we shifted direction. If organisations are updating details on their own website - opening hours, referral routes, address changes - why not simply pick up that information from the source?
That idea became Innate AI, and now changes that happen locally are reflected automatically on Innate Needs. No admin. No reminders. No missed updates. Just accurate data, feeding directly into a platform people can actually rely on.
Would we have built this if everything had gone perfectly? Honestly, probably not. So perhaps it’s one of those rare situations where resistance pushed us into creating something better than our original plan.
Where We Stand as 2025 Comes to an End
The unexpected hurdles didn’t slow us down. If anything, they sharpened the work. We now have a platform that’s more stable, more scalable, and more realistic for how the sector actually functions day-to-day.
And because of that, we feel ready - properly ready - for what comes next.
In early 2026, we’ll begin our rollout, starting in the East of England. It’s a region we know well and where the groundwork is already in motion. We’ll be approaching councils, meeting teams, understanding local challenges, and showing exactly how Innate Needs can slot into their existing work without reinventing any wheels.
Once that’s bedded in, we’ll move outward across the country in stages. Not rushed. Not scattershot. Thoughtfully, with the aim of building something that lasts rather than something that launches and then fizzles.
A Year That Tested Us - and Helped Us Find Our Direction
Now that we’ve had a moment to breathe and look back, the frustrations and the false starts don’t feel quite as heavy as they did at the time. In hindsight, they were more like quiet markers pointing us toward what actually needed to happen. If this year has shown us anything, it’s that the challenges we’re working to fix are real, deep-rooted, and affecting people every day. And strangely, the pushback we faced ended up reinforcing something important: we’re trying to make progress in an area that genuinely needs it.
And if this year has strengthened one belief above all else, it’s this:
- People shouldn’t have to care which organisation holds which piece of information.
- They shouldn't spend hours combing through hundreds of websites.
- They shouldn’t fall through the cracks because the system makes them the detective.
They just need help - clearly, quickly, in one place.
That’s what Innate Needs is for. And that’s what 2026 will be about.